Attacco Di Panico
by KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga
Summary: Non-Massacre. "Uchiha Itachi had witnessed it." When thinking about a certain ANBU captain makes Sakura freak out. Third of my Italian story-arc.


A/N: third instalment of the Italian saga, after "Combattere Insieme". It's not strictly indispensable to read the others first, but it surely helps.

Thank you to those who pointed out that in my last story I put 'Sakumo' instead of 'Sakura'. I apologize. In my defence, it was three o'clock in the morning... yes, exams do this to you.

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Sakura was – secretly – freaking out.

Badly.

What _the hell_ had she gotten herself into?

What had she been thinking? Or better, had she been thinking _at all_?

The Genin who had brought the scroll she was currently holding eyed her cautiously. Her temper, so similar to the Hokage's, was legendary, but the poor boy hoped not to be the witness of that legend right then.

Fortunately, Sakura noticed his apprehension, even in the middle of her mental tantrum. She took pity on him, so she cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for delivering the scroll, Neko-kun. You may leave."

The boy nodded quickly, relieved, and retreated as fast as he could. Even if he had been chosen by Shizune as Hokage's-Assistant's-Helper because he was the only Genin able to survive – more or less – one minute of Tsunade's wrath, that didn't entail he would survive _Sakura's_ as well.

However, if Neko had observed the pink-haired woman a bit more carefully, he would have noticed that she wasn't angry. She was not enraged or furious. She was simply very, very embarrassed.

The scroll she had just received from Tsunade was a formal communication. It stated that Haruno Sakura was assigned to team Alpha of ANBU from that day until the moment she took the official exams to enter the Black Ops.

That in itself wasn't a surprise. The captain of team Alpha himself, Uchiha Itachi, had asked Sakura if she would join his squad only the day before, assuring her that the Hokage would agree. And the pink-haired woman had accepted.

So what made the young medic panic so badly that she scared an unfortunate Genin away?

Sakura sat down on her couch abruptly. Stupid, foolish, idiotic… the green-eyed woman called herself many names, for the simple reason that the entire force of the previous day's events had finally hit her.

She buried her face her hands. The day before, she had discussed her very personal and moral beliefs on sex with her mentor. That in itself was already an unusual occurrence, since the two women rarely shared their own true thoughts. Not because they didn't trust each other, but because they were both busy with the politics of the village, and personal opinions and beliefs didn't have much importance when the lives of many were top priority.

So, Sakura had not only openly stated her opinions, she had also argued with Tsunade over them. She didn't like to have a dispute with her teacher, even if she felt she was in the right. If she could turn back time, she would probably speak her mind all the same. But it wasn't the quarrel that made her uneasy.

No, it was the fact that Uchiha Itachi had witnessed it.

Sakura cursed inwardly, now reaching a whole new level of desperation. She had made a complete fool of herself in front of the ANBU captain – in fact, now he was _her_ captain as well. She had openly admitted that she thought that sex was more than a means to an end.

The pink-haired woman was not ashamed of her beliefs. She truly believed in what she had said. But she was also aware that such an outlook on life was regarded with derision, if not even contempt, by other people. And she just _had_ to speak her mind right when the Uchiha heir was present.

And that wasn't it. She had done worse. She had been completely oblivious, not once but _twice_, of his very presence.

And she claimed she wanted to make ANBU? She couldn't even stay alert enough to sense her surroundings!

Sakura knew that maybe she was exaggerating. She was usually cautious, careful and sharp, and took notice of almost everything around her. She had been quite upset the day before, after arguing with her mentor, but that was no excuse. She must have made a very bad impression on the Uchiha, behaving in such a childish–…

Hold on a second.

_He_ had been the one to ask her to join his squad.

_He_ had told her that he was _impressed_ by her opinion on seduction missions.

And _he_ had asked, no, _demanded_, that she call him Itachi. His first name.

All considered, it didn't actually seem likely for him to despise her.

So, why was she freaking out again?

Sakura, whose face was still buried in her hands, looked up at the scroll once more. The Uchiha had told her to come to training ground four, at eight o'clock in the morning, to meet the rest of the team.

That meant that the next day Sakura was going to begin her journey as an almost-ANBU operative. She still wasn't a member, but she hoped to become one soon.

In her eyes, she had not made the best impression on Uchiha Itachi. He was her squad captain and, as the scroll specified, would report to the Hokage about everything she did.

Determination appeared in the medic's eyes. She would now do her best to show what she was capable of. It was not an everyday occurrence that the strongest ANBU captain of the village gave someone the opportunity to prove their worth. She would make good use of it.

The time to freak out was long overdue.

It was time to show the world what Haruno Sakura was capable of.

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A/N: Why did I write this? Well, to show that Sakura is human. She isn't a robot. She has the right to lose her composure.

Besides, it was fun :-).

"Attacco Di Panico" is in Italian and it means "panic attack."

The next one is going to be called "**Incontro La Squadra**".

Thank you for reading!

KitsuneMiyuKendraHyuga


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